Too Late
by crimineelapplecross
Summary: "Any preferences before I make my verdict' 'Umm...' A thought flew to the front of my brain faster than I could stop it; something I wouldn't normally think about given that my parents are certain to take care of it for me when the time comes... 'Place me in the house where my true love is"
1. Mona Fritillary

I couldn't have been more excited if I had tried. This next year was going to be great! I, Mona Fritillary, was going to Hogwarts, and I couldn't imagine going anywhere else. My father was happy for me, but my mother.. well she was hardly surprised. After all, being a pureblood got me a preorder acceptance letter... at least in her point of view. Added to my status, I was a big fan of all books, and I got top notch grades; my mother would expect nothing less. In my mind, Hogwarts was going to be a breeze. I bought my supplies from only the best stores in Diagon Alley, and was packed more than a week in advance.

On the day of departure, I arrived to the station a half hour early, yet when I made it on the train, all the compartments seemed to be full. I got on at the front of the train and made my way back— looking in every door for a space.

"Geez. Why are there so many people?"

I was seriously considering riding up with the conductor, when I found a compartment near the back with four people and several seats left. I walked in and immediately felt the tension radiating from two people sitting opposite of each other. One had cool, light brown hair with a red and gold striped scarf hanging from his neck, proudly displaying his house colors, and amber brown eyes which were piercing murderously into the other boy. This one had brilliant blonde hair and slate gray eyes that were attempting to burn holes in the first boy. The second had already donned his robes.

"Hello everyone! Is it ok if I sit in here with you all? Everywhere else seems to be full..."

I swore I could hear their necks crack as they flipped their heads to face me. Their startled looks were quickly replaced by blushes that crept around their necks and up to the forehead of the first boy, while the second boy's ears turned a light pink. I smirked and waited for the inevitable argument.

"Here, sit ne-"  
"Shut it Malfoy, she doesn't want to catch anything that you have. You can sit here."

They went back to furiously staring at each other, so I, sensing a trend, looked back and forth between both boys and then proceeded to walk to the window and sit contently on the floor. I noted the twinge of disappointment both faces then had. The space was silent for a while so finally I tried small talk, using my sweetest voice.

"My name's Mona, you all are..."

The boy with blonde hair answered.

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy, and this is Pansy. That git over there's Wood and his girlfriend's Katie Bell."  
"Malfoy! Katie is not my girlfriend. We're just as in love as you and Parkinson over there."  
"So you two are madly in love and past second ba-"  
"Shut it, Pansy! We're not in a relationship!"  
"To sum up, nobody is in a relationship in here"

Everyone nodded their head in agreement with Oliver's conclusion— Pansy a bit reluctantly. I smiled and sat there for a few more painfully silent moments before trying again,

"What houses are you all in, if any, and what year?"

Again, Draco spoke up. I admired his confidence and the diplomatic way he spoke; I began to suspect Draco was raised in a pure blood family like me.

"It's our first year," gesturing to Pansy and himself, "we're going to be in Slytherin. Wood and Katie are in Gryffindor, and I don't care how old they are."  
"I'm in my fifth year, and this is Katie's second. Malfoy isn't the most polite, are you? You incorrigible little halfwit good for nothing..."  
"Shove off, Wood! Wait till my father hears about you. Honestly, half-bloods don't stand a chance against the big-great smartness of pure-bloods!"  
"You can't be very smart if you don't even know better words than big-great smartness! Honestly, pure-bloods couldn't generate a comeback to save their lives!"  
"Excuse me Wood, but I think I can hold my ground adequately."

I had gotten up, cheeks tinged with pink, and was ready to shove the two boys apart. I continued talking with sharpness in my tone, making sure to lace my words with sugar; sugarary words make boys listen.

"Sure, we appear to think ourselves to be above all others, Draco is only supporting that stereotype, but many of us spend time trying to escape the mold that society has put on our lives. We spend our every breath defying aunts, brothers...mothers..."

Draco had sat back down and sighed defeatedly,

"...Fathers..."

He and I exchanged a look of understanding, then slight embarrassment. Before the embarrassment could be noticed, though, the diplomat wall was back in place. Pansy, Katie, and Oliver stared at one another, confused. Oliver looked back my way and blushed deeply when I shot him a practiced smile. I could tell he was caught off guard with my burst of confidence.

He retreated to his side of the compartment, and sat, thinking that he couldn't have possibly screwed that up any more. Oliver really liked Mona, from the little he had seen of her, and making her angry as part of the first impression wasn't good. He did think it made her look prettier though.

Eventually, most people left to get changed into their robes. Katie and Pansy had came back earlier and reported that the girls' lavatories were overflowing with changing people. I concluded it would be best to change in the compartment, so I voiced my thought. The girls agreed and went off to say hi to their other friends. The only ones left in the compartment were Draco and I. He had a mischievous look on his face and I liked that. I decided it would be fun to play my part and see what the boy was capable of.

"I have to change Malfoy."

I gestured for him to leave with my robes in hand.

"Excuse me?"

Draco played it like he wasn't understanding, or he as though hadn't heard me. I repeated the statement with a slight smirk, this time swinging my robes around just on the edge of being dangerous.

"Well I don't think you should change; I like you just like you are now."

"My clothes. I have to change into my robes for school."

He looked at me with a smirk plastered on his face. This boy knew what he wanted but I knew he wasn't thinking through the consequences all the way.

"Well, what's stopping you?"

I continued to play along, intending to upstage him and prove that he couldn't win against me. There was no way he would go much farther. I approached him very slowly, staring into his eyes. I placed my hands on his shoulders, and leaned forward to whisper next to his ear. I felt him tense up with our sudden closeness.

"Are you enjoying your view? I know you want more… How about a date first, and we can decide where to go from there?"

I snaked out my tongue to brush up against his earlobe, paused for a second, then turned away. I grabbed my clothes and left the compartment, shooting Draco a wink on my way. I had already decided to test my luck in the men's bathroom as soon as he started with his little game, I just wanted to have some fun first. All the boys liked peeing out the windows of the train for some reason, so their bathrooms were almost empty. I got dressed, and when I came back Draco wasn't even there. Surprising.


	2. Hogwarts at Last

I got to row the boats! My family had told me everything they could about my first day and I had hoped the boats would be there, just as they said. They were! Three boys were arguing over who was going to row the boat for me, but I ignored them and instead looked up to see the grand castle looming above. I silenced the boys— their bickering was becoming bothersome— and went to sit in Draco's boat. I probably would've sat with Oliver for the boat ride, but he disappeared soon after the train stopped. I got a feeling that Draco and Oliver would become my closest friends during my school years.

When Draco saw me coming, he almost shoved Pansy into the water to make room for me. He rubbed the lobe of his ear as his face became pink once more.

I walked into Hogwarts with unfamiliar people. Draco had introduced me to them, but I couldn't recall their names. I think one had to do with weeds, and the other name sounded very Italian. I tried to look for Oliver again, but still couldn't find him anywhere. I gave up looking and decided to ask Pansy.

"Hey, Pansy? Do you know where... er... Angelina went?"  
"You really mean to ask about Wood, don't you?"  
"H-how did you know?"  
"I'm good with chemistry. Just like I can sense all of the sexual tension between my bae and me."  
"Haha, right. I'm not going to ask."

"Oh I have no shame when it comes to my life, you shouldn't either. I mean, if the way you hang on to every syllable that boy says isn't a good enough indicator, just look at your auras! The tension between me and Draco is the same with you and Wood!"

"What? I just- you should know- we don't- I don't like Wood like that!"

I had blurted out that lie much louder than I meant to. A couple of people turned their heads, and I heard Pansy giggle.

"We're friends, I think, and he's way too old for me, and he's not even my type!"  
"Right, right. That is definitely true. I 100% believe you. Anyways, he's going to be inside the great hall already, with all the other Gryffindorks. After we start eating, you can go see them."  
"Oh, ok! I'm really excited to be sorted, but I honestly don't know which house I want to be placed in..."

Just then, a tall lady walked in and I heard her speak harshly to Draco. My friend instinct kicked in and I was about to go march up to her and teach her a lesson when I saw the boy he was talking with: Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the wonder child, defeater of he-who-must-not-be-named. My jaw dropped. He was literally standing six feet away... he was real! ...And he looked mad. He and Draco were glaring at each other. Feeling the dejavu kick in, I finally decided to intervene and I guided Draco back to where Pansy waited happily. The tall doors slowly opened in front of us, and we walked in.

That's when it hit me. More like slapped me in the face. I was here. Right freaking here. We were here! Right freaking here! We made it to Hogwarts, and we were all standing in the great hall of-of a castle! I made it into the greatest wizarding school on the planet! The teachers' table was right there-in front of me! The house tables at both my sides, and the infamous sorting hat, in all its battered glory, was sitting on its stool. I let myself smile to my full extent for an entire minute before bringing it back down again.  
I glanced behind me and saw all the other first years. Most looked either really excited, or so nervous they were going to wet themselves. I giggled when I saw Pansy looking the latter.

I scanned the group again, looking for Draco; we somehow got pulled apart moments after going inside. He looked sour, probably because of his run-in with Harry. This famous kid had utterly rejected him, from what I heard in the midst of Draco's grumbles. When he turned and noticed I was staring at him, I thought he might've blushed, but if so, it was gone as quick as it had come— leaving his face looking snooty. Strange that one was...I much preferred his dreamy relaxed look... or his smart smirk.

I, out of all people, knew what it's like to have a totally different face for the public's eyes. There have been plenty of pure blood parties I've been forced to attend and act like the propaganda-filled-pure-blooded-baby I am 'meant to be.' I just hope he knows that I understand his situation and that I wouldn't be against talking. If only...

I'm pulled from my reverie just as the sorting hat finished its song. Professor McGonagall started reading off her list of names...

"Hermione Granger!

Hannah Abbott!

Blaise Zabini!

Cho Chang!

Theo Nott!

Draco Malfoy!"

I applauded politely at each name called, even throwing in a cheer as Draco was sorted. After Astoria Greengrass walked herself over to the Slytherin table, I allowed myself to tune out all the noise. I could finally appreciate the beauty of this room. The floating candles added just the right amount of light to allow everyone to see clearly without being blinded. The ceiling perfectly depicted the night sky, aside from the stars occasionally starting fights with each other over who got to shine brighter. My gaze drifted down to the long table with all the teachers, and I couldn't help but catch their eyes one-by-one to flash them each a smile. Half of them smiled back, two even smiled a bit too much. Just from all the reactions, I automatically knew whose classes I'd enjoy more...

"...Mona Fritillary!"

I jerked my head towards Mcgonagall so fast the room decided to 360. It was my turn. I spent all that time ogling the contents of the room like an idiot when I should have been deciding which house I wanted to be placed in! Merlin help me. I looked around for Pansy or Draco but they had disappeared off to their house table. I smiled when I realized they got into Slytherin, just like they wanted. I made my way to the stool and timidly sat down, the older woman carefully placed the hat down on my head-it was so big that it fell way past my eyes and almost over the tip of my nose.

"Hmm... a challenge... difficult... very difficult. I see you are courageous, very good very good... ah! But a bit of a spit fire are we, eh? Don't take nothing from nobody do you? Hmm... ambition, morality, cleverness... what to do, what to do?"  
'I don't know any better than you do'

"Is that so?"  
'I... I didn't know you could hear me...'

I mentally stuttered after realizing the hat had heard my sarcastic thought.

"Common mistake. Any preferences before I make my verdict?"  
'Umm...'

A thought flew to the front of my brain faster than I could stop it; something I wouldn't normally think about given that my parents are certain to take care of it for me when the time comes...

'Place me in the house where my true love is'

I felt my heart sink into my stomach in shame. The hat hesitated. I held my breath, and considered telling it to forget about the whole thing and just stick me in Hufflepuff, but then it responded.

"I use Legillemency. Not Divination sweetheart," the hat replied, though I could almost sense a bit of… something in its tone.

'Sorry... I... don't know why that was the first thing that came to mind...'  
"ah, well. Such is life. Better be... GRYFFINDOR!"

I opened my eyes to see a table roaring with pride to my left. As I walked over to them, my eyes swept over the table's ranks and I caught sight of a familiar face. My face lit up and I walked proudly over to him.  
Once I sat down, Oliver casually placed his arm around my shoulders and gave me a special smile. He leaned into my ear and whispered, so that no one else heard,

"Welcome home."


	3. A Dream

Despite the sorting hat's claims, I took my being put in Gryffindor as a major sign. Naturally, the only boy that popped to mind was Oliver, but I was never against boy hunting! I needed to find someone closer to my age to flirt with, so I could stake my claim with as little competition as possible. There was Dean, Seamus, Harry, and Ron all in my own year. Dean and Seamus might've not known it yet but they were taken by each other. I knew a couple of upperclassmen thanks to Oliver, but still not too many. Hmm, Oliver. He's food for thought…

I wanted to plan out everything about my first day of classes, but I desperately needed sleep. Therefore, I tried to sleep. Of course my mind was having none of that. I kept running conversations from the train over and over in my head. Maybe I was a little too harsh on Draco? I essentially called him self absorbed, and it wasn't exactly true, but what for? Did I take a stab at his ego just to impress Oliver? It's quite possible, but could I really be crushing on Oliver after knowing him a day? Also, was I willing to potentially sacrifice the makings of a good friendship for a pretty boy? I got so worked up over these issues that they invaded my dreams.

I dreamt that I was in a room full of Dracos with Oliver in the middle. I just marched through them, knocking most down out of the way so I could get to Oliver. I did everything imaginable to neutralize Draco. I kept kicking and punching all of him that got in my way, but then I realized that Oliver was walking away from me. I moved faster to get to him, so did Oliver. I started to run and that's when I noticed that the Dracos were speaking to me. I couldn't understand what they were saying. Eventually I got so caught up in what the Dracos were trying to tell me that I stopped and grabbed one by the hand. His eyes lit up unfamiliarly. He talked desperately to me, but I still couldn't understand. In his eyes, tears started to form and he didn't stop them. He kept talking to me, almost pleading, but I shook my head as if to convey my confusion. The look in his eyes after I reacted was heartbreaking. He lost all energy and walked away slowly, shoulders slumped in defeat. In fact, all the Dracos were moving away, clearing a path straight down the middle. I had forgotten about Oliver in all the confusion, but there he was, standing 50 feet away from me, smiling. I started to walk towards him and he, in turn, walked towards me. I was so happy to be able to have him, but then I remembered Draco. There was only one now and he was standing just off to my right side. He looked to be in pain, his suffering increasing every step we took, yet he never left my side. He did his best to smile at me, and just as Oliver and I came within 10 feet of each other, he stopped walking. I turned around just in time to see him fading away, tears streaming down his face. I immediately stopped to save my friend in pain; I tried to grasp his hand before he was gone, but I only touched air.


	4. It's a date!

I sat up suddenly in my bed and let out a strangled sob. The other girls were still fast asleep and I didn't want my nightmare to wake them. I layed down once more and tried to fall asleep again, but I couldn't. I finally got out of bed when my wand began to buzz under my pillow. It was a nifty little charm I had read up on long before school started. Great substitute for the muggle alarm clock. I rushed to the bathroom so I could have it all to myself. I only had minutes to erase the remnants of my tears from my face; I didn't want my dorm mates to see I had been crying. They were very nice, but I didn't want to look weak in front of them on the first day. Besides, I needed my space to get ready in the morning. After a lightning-fast shower and changing into my uniform robes, I charmed my hair to dry it nicely, so it didn't air dry and turn into a frizzy mess.I hurriedly brushed my teeth and said goodbye to Hermione, who had just gotten up, and darted out the door. I wanted to make sure I knew where all my classes were beforehand, but I needed my schedule from the great hall for that. Walking around to my classes would leave me no time for breakfast, so I had prepared myself. I reached into my bag for the apple I had snatched from dinner the previous night, but in doing so, I wasn't looking where I was going. This led to me colliding right into another body, causing the both of us to topple onto the floor in a heap of human flesh. Unfortunately, we toppled in my direction and I ended up on the bottom of said heap.

"Hey! Watch where you're go— Mona, is that you? Are you alright?"

I shoved my hair out of my face to see Wood staring apologetically down at me. I inwardly died of embarrassment when I realized the position we were in, and a few seconds later he matched my reaction on the outside. Taking advantage of his apparent embarrassment I turned the tables on him.

"Happy to see me _Wood_?"

"I swear it's not because of this, just sometimes in the morni… wait. I'm not even ha…"

His face went from impossibly red to an even brighter red when he realized I had tricked him. I let out a gleeful laugh and smiled at him. All I could think about was how good he looked right then.

"I really am sorry Oliver, I was just on my way to the great hall to get my schedule and I was trying t—"

"No, no, it's perfectly ok! I was a little distracted too..."

"Oh, ok then. I guess we should get going? I'd like to scout out my classrooms before school starts"

"Nice! That's a great idea, I wouldn't have thought to do that my first year."

I smiled again and nodded my goodbye. As I walked away Oliver yelled to me.

"Hey! Er… Mona? I'd say I know my way around pretty well, I could walk you to the great hall and … maybe show you around after?"

I felt adrenaline rush through my veins at the preposition and I couldn't help but smile a little bit.

"Okay! I mean, er, sure I guess… sir.."

We both laughed and I leaned against the wall to watch him catch up to me. As we walked, he began to fill me in on the different ways we could earn points for our house. I was already bursting at the seams with house pride and we were both determined not to lose the house cup for this year. Oliver told me that Slytherin had been on a winning streak the past few years and I wasn't about to let that continue.

"Obviously, we can win points by doing well in class and participating when the teachers ask questions, but there's also things like the quidditch cup that can help houses win. Have you considered trying out for quidditch? It's a great thing to be involved in. I'm on the team, well I'm the captain actually, and I've talked to you about some of the other members I'm sure."

"I'm not really cut out for quidditch, but I love watching it."

"So you'll come see our games then?"

"Why, did you want me to?"

"You have to support your house of course!"

"Right… of course."

"You could also come to some of the practices? Meet the team? You already know Katie."

"I would love to Wood."

We had arrived at the great hall and it still amazed me to look up and be able to see the sky: a blue sky with scattered puffy clouds. It looked like a painting. I saw Oliver watching me from the corner of my eye. I could tell it was going to be a good day.

I picked up my schedule and went to find Oliver, who was grabbing muffins and shoving them ferociously into a side pocket on his bag. He wordlessly offered me a muffin, since he had one in his mouth, and I accepted it with a giggle. He grabbed some more muffins and we On our way out, I caught a glimpse of the famous Harry Potter again. A boy sitting next to him with bright red hair was sloppily eating his breakfast with table mannerisms so ghastly that I wanted to vomit just looking at him. Who eats chicken for breakfast anyways?

I quickly walked away from the boy, who was clearly a Weasley. My parents had told me all about that family. I felt bad for their lack of money, but from what I heard they weren't the type of people that the Fritillary family associates with. My family would freak if I befriended a Weasley. I caught sight of Draco at the Slytherin table and I waved at him, my face beaming. He looked slightly queasy when he saw me, I hoped he was feeling okay...

Oliver showed me where I would be having my flight, potions, and double charms classes and then walked me back to the quidditch fields for flying class. He seemed excited that I was learning how to fly. He kept mumbling about broom rides and meadows…

"Well, this is my stop. Thanks so much for walking me around Oliver. I guess I'll see you in the common room later?"

"It's a date."

"Bye."

"Bye Mona."

"Bye Wood!"

"Goodbye Mona!"


	5. A Day in Class

***I think I have finally figured out how author's notes work... We'll see. Anyways, I want to thank all the readers for their support, especially those that left a favorite! My cowriter and I were so excited to see that! Short announcement: I will be starting to publish another fic. I haven't titled it yet, but it's a Dramione. I also have a Supernatural Fanfiction in the works and would love to hear about interest for both. Thanks!***

For exactly two minutes and fifty two seconds I spastically fixed my hair in the hallways leading to the dungeons. It was after flight class, and Madame Hooch did not mess around! She was really upset to see Mcgonagall with our class after she had come back from the hospital wing. By the time the class had ended, and Madame Hooch was done yelling at us, I had barely three minutes to sprint down to potions. The corridors were emptying out quickly so I had plenty of room to run, which was good. My super-clutz status meant that I ran into people way too often.

I managed to arrive just before the classroom door closed. Everyone was sitting or was already seated and I freaked out about where I would go. All the open seats were disappearing before my very eyes. I caught a glimpse of a slender pale arm waving at me out of the corner of my eye, and I turned towards them. It was Draco and he had saved a seat next to him. I smiled, hurried over to him, dropped my school bag on the table to claim my spot, and plopped into the chair next to him. Just as I was about to breathlessly thank Draco for the seat, professor Snape whooshed into the room, nearly scaring everyone out of their seats.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class…"

Professor Snape rolled into a whole speech about flame broiling victory or something like that, while I became distracted once again by the dream I had the night before. The current Draco seemed so cool and collected; this Draco was far from his dream self. I never had wanted more to know what he was trying to tell me, what he looked desperate for me to know…

I snapped back to reality in time to catch Snape in the middle of a different speech. He had begun to berate Potter for some complex potions knowledge, definitely not things first years were supposed to know. Hermione was the only one who raised her hand to volunteer an answer in place of Harry though, and it didn't look like Snape planned to call on her. I felt bad for the boy; even though he had been mean to Draco earlier, nobody deserved to feel pressured by a professor like that.

I started to zone out again, but Draco interrupted my thoughts. He had turned to me and asked me a whispered question.

"So what'd you think of flying then?"

I was halfway tempted to come up with some smart comment about the incident he had caused earlier, but I bit my tongue. Not every moment is a teaching moment and with boys that standard applies twice as much. I did regret how harsh I was to him on the train, so I granted him a simple response.

"It really was wonderful! It was windy though."

"No way you could've looked worse than Granger over there."

"Stop it! It would do you well to remember she's my dorm mate and I think she's very pleasurable!"

He blushed ashamedly, and I realized that I preferred that look over some of his others. He seemed less cold and closed off, and like he actually felt emotion when he talked. I granted him a peace offering sentence.

"...Anyways, I agree with you. About flying. I find it to be a rather—exhilarating escape from reality."

Draco and I spent the rest of the class taking notes, assembling ingredients for simple potion bases, and having small conversations about both everything and nothing. I thought that potions class would be intolerable, but Draco made it so enjoyable that I might have actually had a good time that first day.


End file.
